New Studio Cinipix to Shoot Film Footage in Outer Space

The space mission will mix innovative filmmaking with a lucrative branding opportunity

Cinipix, a new Hollywood studio run by Todd Slater, will send a ship into space to shoot footage for its upcoming film “Newcomers.” This marks the first Hollywood involvement in a private space mission.

Former NASA astronaut Richard A. Searfoss will pilot the craft. Cinipix will partnered with Centerboro Productions on the voyage.

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The movie is about a former astronaut who saves Earth from an alien invasion. Patricia A. Beninati and Michael K Anderson adapted the screenplay from a script by Beninati.

Production is set to begin early next year.

The trip into space serves as both an innovative bit of filmmaking and brand integration. XCOR Aerospace, which made the ship, helps save the planet in the film.

Also read: Veteran Financiers to Build a New Hollywood Studio

“We knew we could approach this film in a new, non-traditional way and explore options that didn’t exist just a few years ago,” Slater told TheWrap. “Partnering with a privately owned commercial space company for an interstellar sci-fi film is now very logical and doable, so we wanted to move fast and create something special. We certainly know it will add a fantastic and thrilling realism to our scenes.”

Cinipix is one of several film companies in the constellation of Toast & Jam Holdings, formed by veteran financiers Neil Grossman and Howard Silverman. Other subsidiaries include animation company Cosmic Toast Studios and rental production company Cinirents.

“Cinipix is one of the few companies approaching the film business in a really unique way,” Beninati said in a statement.  “It has created a one -top shop that allows the creative side of the industry to focus on what we do best, which is create.”

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